Solana Beach floats compromise for beach center

But citizens group says it will push forward with ballot measure

SOLANA BEACH  Solana Beach residents are a big step closer to being able to rent out a renovated bluff-top community center for private events, a proposal that has upset neighbors who live near the site but mobilized others who say the building is a resource that has yet to reach its full potential.

The City Council voted Wednesday to move forward on a compromise plan for renting out the venue and allowing limited alcohol on site, but it probably won’t impact a group’s effort to force a special election on a measure allowing far fewer restrictions, a spokesperson for that campaign said.

The controversy surrounding the building has been among the most divisive in recent memory in Solana Beach.

Residents living near the Fletcher Cove Community Center say that allowing weekend parties where alcohol could be served would be intolerable for a neighborhood that already has to deal with special events at a seaside park and beachgoers hogging parking spots and leaving trash in their wake.

Others, however, say Solana Beach residents and nonprofit groups raised more than $225,000 for the renovation that turned a dilapidated building into a civic jewel. (The structure was once a Civilian Conservation Corps barracks in Vista before being moved to the coast in the 1940s.) Donations were made, the argument goes, with the expectation that people could take full advantage of the site, which is now limited to hosting such things as art classes, meetings and a community sing-along.

After a marathon June 12 public hearing, the City Council couldn’t reach a consensus on allowing private parties or alcohol use, prompting a group called Friends of Fletcher Cove Community Center to start collecting signatures for a ballot measure. Since then, an opposing group, Friends of Fletcher Cove, has formed a political action committee to counter those efforts and advocate for neighbors.

Council members said after the Wednesday night meeting that they had spent much of the past several weeks talking to and working with residents to find a consensus.

“Not everybody is going to get what they want and not everybody is going to be happy, but this is the idea of compromise,” Mayor Mike Nichols said.

The compromise calls for no more than one private party rental at $50 per hour every other weekend, with cleanup mandated by 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 7 p.m. on Sunday. Hosts would have to hire a security guard, and no more than 50 people could be on the premises. Beer and wine could be served — but with a two-drink limit per guest (no details on the size of the glasses were discussed).

A formal resolution is set to come back to the council Aug. 28, and private parties could be held at the site as early as the following month.

Rules would be in place for a trial period through Dec. 31, 2014.

Kelly Harless, who heads the Friends of Fletcher Cove, wasn’t happy that alcohol is still on tap, but said: “I feel like the City Council did what they had to do to keep the neighbors safe while still allowing access for all.”

But the council’s plan is far more restrictive than what is called for in the initiative: Up to two parties per weekend and beer and wine use governed by state Alcoholic Beverage Control rules and regulations.

“I don’t know why we would quit now,” said Mary Jane Boyd of the Friends of the Fletcher Cove Community Center. “We already have over 1,000 signatures now.”

Some 1,311 are needed, but the group has 180 days to collect them.

“I think the issue needs to go to the voters,” Boyd said.

If the measure qualifies for a special election, the City Council could put a competing, proposal on the same ballot.